Apparatuses and methods relating to findable balls

ABSTRACT

Golf balls for use with a system for finding golf balls and methods for making such golf balls. In the case of one exemplary golf ball, the ball includes a shell, a core material and a tag having a diode which is coupled to an antenna which has at least a portion formed from an elastic conductive material, such as an elastic conductive ink. The core material may include a void for receiving at least part of the diode. Other golf balls are described and methods for making balls are also described.

This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/672,365 filed on Sep. 26, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to sports, such as golf, and more particularlyto golf balls, and methods for making golf balls and systems for usewith golf balls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Golf balls are often lost when people play golf. The loss of the ballslows down the game as players search for a lost ball, and lost ballsmake the game more expensive to play because of the cost of new balls.Furthermore, according to the rules of the U.S. Golf Association, aplayer is penalized for strokes in a round or game of golf if his/hergolf ball is lost.

There have been attempts in the past to make findable golf balls inorder to avoid some of the problems caused by lost balls. One suchattempt is described in German Patent No. G 87 09 505.3 (Helmut Mayer,1988). In this German patent, a two-piece golf ball is fitted with foilreflectors which are glued to the outer layer of the core. A shellsurrounds the foil reflectors and the core. Each of the reflectorsconsists of a two-part foil antenna with a diode connected on the innerends. The diode causes a reflected signal to be double the frequency ofa received signal. A 5-watt transmitter, which is used to beam a signaltoward the reflectors, is used to find the ball. The ball is found whena reflected signal is generated by the foil antenna and diode andreflected back toward a receiver. It has been discovered that this allfoil antenna does not provide a durable antenna and that the ball willnot be findable (e.g. findable for a distance of greater than 20 feet)after only a few hits on the ball.

Another attempt in the art to make a findable golf ball is described inPCT Patent Application No. WO 0102060 A1, which describes a golf ballfor use in a driving range. This golf ball includes an activeradiofrequency identification device (RFID) which identifies aparticular ball. The RFID includes an active (e.g. contains transistors)ASIC chip which is energized from a received radio signal. The RFIDdevice is mounted in the sealed capsule which is placed within the coreof the ball. The RFID device is designed to be used only at short range(e.g. less than about 10 feet). The use of a sealed capsule to hold theRFID within the ball increases the expense of making this ball and isbelieved to degrade the performance of the ball. Other examples ofattempts in the prior art to make findable golf balls include U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,626,531; 5,423,549; 5,662,534; and 5,820,484.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

Apparatuses, methods and systems relating to findable golf balls aredescribed herein.

In one exemplary embodiment of an aspect of the invention, a golf ballincludes a shell, a core material which is encased within the shell, anda tag having a diode which is coupled to an antenna which has at least aportion formed from an elastic conductive material which is encasedwithin an outer surface of the shell.

In another exemplary embodiment, a high durability golf ball includes aball material and a tag coupled to the ball material. The tag includesan electrical component (e.g. a diode or transistor) which is coupled toan antenna, and the tag has a substantially curved outer surface whichsubstantially conforms to a surface of a sphere. The golf ball isdurably detectable (e.g. after 20 cannon test hits) over a range of atleast about 20 feet.

In another exemplary embodiment, a golf ball includes a shell, a corematerial which is encased within the shell, wherein the core materialhas a void on an outer surface of the core material, and a tag having adiode which is coupled to an antenna, wherein the diode has at least aportion thereof disposed in the void.

In another exemplary embodiment, a golf ball includes a ball materialhaving a template, and the tag which is coupled to the ball material,wherein the tag includes an antenna which is formed in a pattern definedat least in part by the template.

A method of making a golf ball, according to an exemplary embodiment ofanother aspect of the invention, includes forming a first member havingan outer surface, depositing a liquid material which when dried, formsat least one antenna which is electrically conductive, and forming asecond member which surrounds the at least one antenna.

A method of making a golf ball according to another exemplary embodimentincludes forming a first member having an outer surface, forming a voidin the outer surface, wherein the outer surface forms at least a portionof a sphere's surface, depositing at least a portion of a diode into thevoid, coupling the diode to an antenna formed on the outer surface, andforming a second member which surrounds the antenna.

A method of making a golf ball according to another exemplary embodimentdescribed herein, includes forming a first member having an outersurface, depositing onto the outer surface an elastic conductivematerial which forms an elastic antenna, coupling a diode to the elasticantenna, and forming a second member which surrounds the elasticantenna.

A method of making a golf ball, according to another exemplaryembodiment described herein, includes forming a structure for an antennaon a first substrate, forming a first member having an outer surface,transferring said structure from said first substrate to said firstmember, and forming a second member which surrounds said antenna.

Various embodiments described herein will provide a golf ball which isdetectable with a handheld transmitting/receiving device over a range ofat least 20 feet (separating the tag and the handheldtransmitting/receiving device). Certain of these embodiments providegolf balls which have high durability, such that most such balls cannormally survive at least 20 cannon hits using standard testingmethodology used by the golf industry. Further, many of the golf ballsprovided by the various embodiments may substantially comply with golfball specifications of the U.S. Golf Association or the golf ballspecifications of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.Further, certain embodiments of the golf balls described herein may bedetectable with a handheld transmitting/receiving device which iscapable of detecting a tag over a range of at least 20 feet and whichcomplies with regulations of the Federal Communications Commission. Forexample, in certain of these embodiments, golf balls may be detectableat a range of at least 20 feet, while the transmitter transmits lessthan or equal to about 1 watt maximum peak power or about 4 wattsisotropic radiated power.

Other embodiments of golf balls and methods of making such golf ballsare described. Other features and embodiments of various aspects of thevarious inventions will be apparent from this description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1A shows a system for finding a golf ball according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a handheldtransmitter/receiver which may be used with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of a handheld transmitter/receiver of FIG.1B.

FIG. 2A is an electrical schematic which illustrates an embodiment of acircuit for a tag according to one aspect of the invention.

FIG. 2B shows a structural representation of the circuit of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of a golf ball which has three piecesand wherein certain of those pieces have been removed partially in orderto show the arrangement of a radial transmission line based antenna onthe core of the golf ball.

FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of a two-piece golf ball with a tagbetween the shell and core of the golf ball.

FIG. 3C shows a cross-sectional of a three-piece golf ball having a tagdisposed between a middle layer and the core of the golf ball.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of a two-piece golf ball whichincludes a void or cavity to receive an electrical component such as adiode.

FIG. 4B shows an enlarged view of a portion of the golf ball shown inFIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C shows a top perspective view of the golf ball of FIG. 4A,wherein the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4A is shown by the line 4A-4Ain FIG. 4C.

FIG. 5A shows a top perspective view of a golf ball core which includesa template for forming an antenna pattern.

FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the core of FIG. 5A taken at thecross-sectional point illustrated by line 5B-5B shown in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is top perspective view of a core of a golf ball having a pairof tags, each of which includes radial transmission lines for theirantenna patterns.

FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the core of FIG. 6A, where thecross-sectional view is taken through line 6B-6B shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C is a side perspective view of a core of a golf ball whichincludes two tags, each of which have a pair of radial transmissionlines to form an antenna pattern for each tag.

FIG. 6D is a view through a transparent core showing the orthogonalarrangement of the two tags relative to each other.

FIG. 6E shows a side view of a golf ball core with three orthogonaltags, each of which has a pair of radial transmission lines to form anantenna pattern for each tag. FIG. 6F shows a top view of the golf ballshown in FIG. 6E.

FIG. 7A is a side view of a leadless diode.

FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the leadless diode of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C is a side view of a diode which includes leads.

FIG. 8A shows a plane view of a particular embodiment of a tag'santenna, with an inductive element; this view includes actualmeasurements, in inches, for the particular antenna.

FIG. 8B is a plane view of a portion of the antenna shown in FIG. 8Awhich additional dimensions being shown.

FIG. 8C shows a plane view of another embodiment of a tag having anantenna pattern formed from radial transmission lines.

FIG. 8D shows an example of another tag having an antenna formed withradial transmission lines, wherein the antenna includes perforations inthe antenna.

FIGS. 8E, 8F, and 8G illustrate alternative embodiments of antennashaving a pattern resembling a radial transmission line with perforationsin the antenna pattern.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart which illustrates one method of making a golfball.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart which illustrates another method of making a golfball.

FIG. 9C shows a flowchart which illustrates another method of making agolf ball.

FIG. 9D is a flowchart which illustrates another method of making a golfball.

FIG. 9E is a flowchart which illustrates another method of making a golfball.

FIG. 10 shows, in cross-sectional view, a mold and core combination forforming an exemplary embodiment of a golf ball core.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D show top, top, side and bottom viewsrespectively of an inkjet printer for use in at least one method ofmaking a golf ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject invention will be described with reference to numerousdetails set forth below, and the accompanying drawings will illustratethe invention. The following description and drawings are illustrativeof the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.Numerous specific details are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, in certain instances,well known or conventional details are not described in order to notunnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail.

Various embodiments and aspects of the invention will be described withreference to details set below, and the accompanying drawings willillustrate the invention. The following description and drawings areillustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limitingthe invention. Numerous specific details such as sizes and weights andfrequencies are described to provide a thorough understanding of variousembodiments of the present invention. However, in certain instances,well-known or conventional details are not described in order to notunnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail.

FIG. 1A shows an example of the system which uses a handheldtransmitter/receiver to find a findable golf ball. A person 18 such as agolfer, may carry a handheld transmitter/receiver which is designed tolocate a findable golf ball 10 which includes a tag 12 embedded in thegolf ball. The handheld transmitter/receiver 14 may operate as a radarsystem which emits an electromagnetic signal 16 which then can bereceived, converted and transmitted by the tag 12 back to thetransmitter/receiver which can then receive the signal from the tag in areceiver in the handheld unit 14. Various different types of tags, suchas tag 12, are described further below for use in the golf ball 10.These tags typically include an antenna and a diode coupled to theantenna. The diode serves to double the frequency of the received signal(or to provide another harmonic of the received signal), which makes iteasier for the receiver to detect and find a golf ball as opposed toanother object which has reflected the emitted signal without modifyingthe frequency of the emitted signal. The tag within the golf ball 10 istypically positioned such that the symmetry of the ball is substantiallymaintained. For example, the center of gravity (and symmetry) of a ballwith a tag is substantially the same as a ball without a tag. The tag incertain embodiments is of such a weight and size so that the resultingball containing the tag has the same weight and size as a ball whichcomplies with the United States Golf Association specifications or thespecifications of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (“R&A”).The various parts of a tag may be made with materials which are designedto match the density/specific gravity of the materials within the golfball which are displaced by the tag. For example, the elastic conductivematerial, which may be used as an antenna in certain embodimentsdescribed herein, may be selected to have a density/specific gravitywhich approximates the density/specific gravity of a core material or ashell material of a golf ball. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, aball with a tag has the same performance characteristics (e.g. initialvelocity) as balls which were approved for use by the United States GolfAssociation or the R&A.

The handheld unit 14 shown in FIG. 1A may have the form shown in FIGS.1B and 1C. This form, shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, is one example of manypossible forms for a handheld unit. For example, alternative forms maynot include a handle. This handheld device is typically a small devicehaving a cylindrical handle which may be 4-5 inches long, and may have adiameter of approximately 1.5 inches. The cylindrical handle, such ashandle 21, is attached to a six-sided solid which includes an antenna,such as the antenna casing 22 shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C. FIG. 1B is aside view of a handheld transmitter/receiver which may be used incertain embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1C is a perspectiveview of a handheld unit shown in FIG. 1B. The handheld unit ispreferably compliant with all regulations of the Federal CommunicationsCommission and is battery powered. The batteries may be housed in thehandle 21, and they may be conventional batteries which may be placedinto the handle by a user or they may be rechargeable batteries whichcan be recharged either through the use of an AC wall/house socket or aportable rechargeable unit (e.g. in a golf cart). In order to complywith regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or otherapplicable governmental regulations regarding radio equipment, thehandheld may emit pulsed (or non-pulsed) radar signals with a power thatis equal to or less than 1 watt. In certain embodiments, the handheldunit may emit through its transmitter pulsed radar signals up to 1 wattmaximum peak power and up to 4 watts effective isotropic radiated power(EIRP). Thus, the handheld unit for locating golf balls may be sold toand used by the general public in the United States. Several embodimentsof handheld transmitters/receivers are described in a prior U.S. patentapplication filed Jan. 17, 2003 as Ser. No. 10/346,919, by inventorsChris Savarese, et al. At least some of these embodiments may be sold toand used by the general public in countries other than the United Statesbecause the embodiments meet regulatory requirements of those countries.For example, a handheld unit for use and sale in the European Union willnormally be designed and manufactured to meet the CE markingrequirements and the National Spectrum Authority requirements per theR&TTE (Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment) Directive. Inother countries, the regulatory regimes in those countries wouldnormally be considered in designing a handheld unit. While certainembodiments described herein use a handheld transmitting/receivingdevice to find a ball, it will be appreciated that alternativeembodiments may use a transmitting/receiving device which is on a golfcart or on a golf bag or on other golf equipment or golf attire (e.g. agolf cap). These alternative embodiments may not be units which aredesigned to be held in a hand or they may also be holdable in a hand.

FIG. 2A shows an electrical schematic of a tag according to oneembodiment. The circuit of the tag 50 includes an antenna having twoportions 52 and 54. The portion 52 is coupled, through a transmissionline 51, to one end of the diode 56 and the portion 54 is coupled,through a transmission line 53, to the other end of the diode 56. Atransmission line 58 which forms an inductor is coupled in parallelacross the combination of the diode 56 and the transmission lines 51 and53 as shown in FIG. 2A. The diode 56 is designed to double the receivedfrequency so that the transmitted signal from the tag is twice (or someharmonic) of the received signal. It will be appreciated that the doubleharmonic described herein is one particular embodiment, and alternativeembodiments may use different harmonics or multiples of the receivedsignal. FIG. 2B shows a structural representation of the circuit of FIG.2A. In particular, FIG. 2B shows the antenna portions 52 and 54 coupled,through transmission lines 51 and 53, to their respective ends of thediode 56 which is in turn coupled to a transmission line 58. The diodemay be a varactor diode, a Schottky diode, a step recovery diode or atransistor that is wired as a diode. In one exemplary embodiment of thecircuit 50, the diode 56 may be a Schottky diode from MetelicsCorporation, part number SMSD3004-SOD323, which is available in apackage referred to as an SOD323 package. In an alternative embodiment,the diode 56 may be a Metelics diode in a leadless package such as an05-03 package. In other embodiments, the diode 56 may, for example, be adiode from M/A-Com, part number MA4E2054-1141. The circuits shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B may be implemented in structures that have variousdifferent shapes and configurations as will be apparent from thefollowing description.

FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of a three-piece golf ball having acore 46, a middle layer 39, and an outer shell 38. The core may beformed from various existing materials which are used to form golf ballcores, and particularly golf ball cores used in three-piece golf balls.Similarly, the middle layer 39 and the outer shell 38 may be formed withexisting materials which are used in existing three-piece golf balls.The view of FIG. 3A shows the ball partially peeled so that it can beseen that the outer shell 38 normally surrounds the spherical core 46 aswell as the layer 39. The golf ball of FIG. 3A includes a tag 49. Thetag 49, in this embodiment, includes three components: an antenna 47,and inductive element 48, and a diode (not shown) which is coupledbetween the two radial transmission lines which are separated andinterconnected by the diode as further described below. The antenna 47and the inductive element 48 may, in one embodiment of the invention, beformed from an elastic conductive material which is applied or depositedonto the core as described herein. In one exemplary embodiment, theelastic conductive material may be a cured conductive ink which iselastic after curing. An example of such a substance is ElectrodagPF-046 from Acheson Colloids Company of Port Huron, Mich. (seewww.achesonindustries.com). Electrodag PF-046 is a screen printable,silver-filled polymer thick film based on a mixture of thermoplasticresins. It is formulated to provide outstanding flexibility, highconductivity, and excellent adhesion to a wide variety of substrates.The material has outstanding flexibility and is elastic after curing ordrying. The elastic nature of this material tends to make itself-healing, even in the face of the extreme stress of being in a golfball. The material may be applied in a variety of ways including manualpainting, ink jetting, pad printing, lithographic (e.g. transfer)printing, etc. The material may be applied through the use of atemplate, which is further described below. The conductive ink mayitself be used to form a connection with the contact pads on a diode ora separate compressible, elastic conductor may be utilized to couple thecontact pads of a diode to the respective radial transmission lineswhich make up the antenna 47. It has been found that the use of anelastic conductive material for the antenna allows for greater tag andball durability than an all foil antenna which is placed between thecore and the shell of a golf ball. It has been discovered that such afoil antenna will not survive cannon test hits. Thus, golf balls whichuse solely foil antennas will not satisfy durability requirementsbecause such balls will not be findable after 1 or a few (e.g. less than10) cannon test hits; in other words, after a few cannon test hits, thefoil antenna will have cracked and been ruptured into pieces whichcannot properly function and will not allow the ball to be found atdistances greater than about 20 feet. Even if the ball survives cannontest hits, the tag will not, and thus the ball and the tag are notdurably findable.

A generally accepted durability standard in the golf ball manufacturingindustry involves the use of a cannon test hit. A golf ball is generallyconsidered durable if it can survive about 40 cannon test hits.Normally, a sample of such golf balls are tested, and if most (more than50%) survive 40 cannon test hits, then the golf ball is consideredsufficiently durable. Normally, a golf ball is considered to havesurvived if it shows no structural failures; a structural failureincludes a crack or a seam or a distortion of the ball's shape (e.g. aflattened portion) or a removal of a portion of the ball (e.g. the shellseparates from the core) or the ball is split into portions (e.g. itcracks into two hemispherical pieces). A typical cannon testingprocedure uses a COR (and durability) tester machine from Hye PrecisionProducts (www.hyeprecision.com). The machine has variable compressed airsettings for selecting a desired pressure in order to obtain a desiredinitial velocity for a ball being tested. The machine has an automaticreturn system which collects the balls after they are hit and returnsthem for another hit. Typically, twelve (12) balls are loaded and eachball is automatically introduced on a cycle run. It takes about 12seconds for each hit/cycle. A round of 12 balls will cycle through themachine every two minutes. The cycle allows a ball to cool down aftereach hit. A ball is loaded inside a barrel with a diameter slightlylarger than the ball's diameter (barrel diameter=1.70″ and barrellength=18″). The machine hits the ball with a plunger, driven at an airpressure of 39 psi (pounds per square inch), such that the ball ispropelled through the barrel with an initial velocity of about 145ft/sec. The ball is hit against a 3-inch metal block which is 21.5inches away from the end of the barrel. The ball bounces off the metalblock and goes into a return chute and is reloaded during a cycle withother balls. The ball is hit/cycled and reloaded 40 times.

FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of a two-piece golf ball whichincludes a tag between the core 34 and the shell 32. The golf ball 30has a tag which includes a diode 35 and two antenna portions 33A and33B. In one embodiment, the antenna portions 33A and 33B may be radialtransmission lines which are described further below. FIG. 3C shows across-sectional view of a golf ball 40 which is a three-piece golf ballhaving a core 43 which is surrounded by a middle (or mantle) layer 42which in turn is surrounded by an outer shell 41. A tag is disposedbetween the core 43 and the middle layer 42. This tag includes a diode45 as well as antenna portions 44A and 44B. In an alternative embodimentof a three-piece ball, a tag may be disposed between the mantle layerand the outer shell layer. The antenna portions of the tag shown in FIG.3B and the antenna portions of the tag shown in FIG. 3C (as well as theantenna portions of the tags shown in FIGS. 4A through 6F) mayadvantageously be fabricated using an elastic conductive material suchas a conductive ink, which may be, in one embodiment a polymer withmetal particles disposed or dispersed in the polymer. The flexibilityand elasticity of the antenna will allow the antenna and tag towithstand the tremendous stress placed on a golf ball when it is hit bya golfer.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of a two-piece golf ball 80 whichincludes a core material 82 and a shell 81 which surrounds the sphericalcore material 82. A tag is disposed between the inner surface of theshell 81 and the outer spherical surface of the core material 82. Thistag includes a diode 84 which is coupled between antenna portions 85Aand 85B. The antenna pattern created by the antenna portions 85A and 85Bmay resemble any one of the antenna patterns shown in FIGS. 8A-8G andmay be formed from a conductive elastic material. The diode 84 isdisposed at least partially in a void or cavity 83 in the core material82 as shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4B shows, in cross-sectional view, anenlarged view of the portion of the core 82 around the void 83. It canbe seen from FIG. 4B that the diode 84 is at least partially disposed inthe void 83 and is coupled to the void 83 by an optional adhesive 87which is disposed between the diode 84 and the core material 82. Thediode 84 includes electrical contact pads 86A and 86B which are coupledto respective portions of the antenna portions 85A and 85B. The diode 84may resemble the leadless diode shown in FIG. 7A and in FIG. 7B.However, other configurations may also be used such as the diode shownin FIG. 7C.

The void in the core material 82 helps to protect the diode during themanufacturing process and helps protect the diode from harm when thegolf ball is struck by a golfer. Thus this tends to improve thedurability of a golf ball such as that shown in FIG. 4A. The void alsotends to keep the diode (or other component) properly positioned andcoupled to the antenna during an injection molding process when the ballis being manufactured. It has been discovered that without such a void,a diode tends to be dislodged away from the antenna during the injectionmolding process (e.g. when a shell is applied over the antenna anddiode) and accordingly may result in the diode being disconnected fromthe antenna. A low profile diode (or other electrical component) may beplaced in such a void or may be used without a void if its low profilepermits such diode to be used in a manufacturing process (e.g. theinjection molding process).

FIG. 4C shows a top perspective view of the core and tag of a golf ball80 with the shell 81 not yet applied over the tag and the core. Thecross-sectional view of FIG. 4A is taken at line 4A-4A as shown in FIG.4C. The antenna portions 85A and 85B are patterned as radialtransmission lines, each of which are coupled to respective electricalcontact pads on the diode 84. The use of radial transmission lines asthe antenna portions for a tag in a golf ball are further describedbelow. The antenna of the tag shown in FIG. 4C does not include aninductive element which is an optional element which may be added to theantenna pattern to improve electrical characteristics of the tag; forexample, through the use of an inductive element, the impedance orreactance of the antenna may be matched with the impedance or reactanceof the electrical component which in this case is a diode.

Certain embodiments of the present invention may utilize a template onthe core or other layer to assist in the creation of an antenna patternonto the core or other layer. For example, the template may allow aperson to manually paint a conductive liquid ink onto the core or otherlayer by constraining the position of the paint within a boundarydefined by the template. FIGS. 5A and 5B show an example of one suchtemplate. It will be appreciated that numerous different types oftemplates may be utilized and that the template of FIGS. 5A and 5B isone example of such different templates. FIG. 5A shows a top perspectiveview of a core 90 of a golf ball. The core includes a template which inthis case are two grooves 91 and 92 formed in the core 90. Thecross-sectional view of FIG. 5B, which is taken along the line 5B-5Bshown in FIG. 5A, shows how the groove 91 extends into the core materialof the core 90. These grooves may be formed in the process of moldingthe core in a mold which includes protrusions which form the grooves. Anexample of such a mold is shown in FIG. 10 and will be described furtherbelow. The grooves set a boundary which defines the perimeter of theantenna pattern and this boundary may be used by a person who manuallypaints (e.g. with a paintbrush) the antenna pattern onto the core. Itwill be appreciated that the grooves may have a variety of shapes, suchas a “v” shape or a “u” shape or a “w” shape. Alternatively, rather thana groove, a protrusion which extends beyond the spherical surface of thecore may be used as a template. Other types of templates may include ademarcation such as a discoloration or other visually perceptible effectwhich forms a line or boundary indicator on the core or other layerwhere the antenna pattern is to be created.

Golf balls which have a single tag such as the ball shown in FIG. 3A mayrequire more effort to find when the orientation of the antenna relativeto the handheld transmitting/receiving device is such that most of theradiation transmitted from the handheld transmitting/receiving device isnot received by the antenna. This can happen, for example, when the balllands in an orientation in which most of the surface area of the antennapattern is perpendicular to the plane of the transmitting antenna on thehandheld transmitting/receiving device. In this case, very little if anyelectromagnetic energy is re-radiated back to the handheld device fromthe golf ball. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D providea golf ball which has greater detectability over a wider range oforientations relative to the handheld transmitting/receiving device.This greater detectability results from the substantially sphericalcoverage of the two independent tags which are arranged in asubstantially orthogonal manner relative to each other. This can be seenfrom FIG. 6A, FIG. 6C, and FIG. 6D. The substantially orthogonalarrangement of the two independent tags each having an antenna patternsuch as a radial transmission line antenna pattern provides for anadequate amount of surface area of the antenna (whichnon-perpendicularly faces the transmitting/receiving device) regardlessof the orientation of the ball. FIG. 6A shows a top perspective view ofa golf ball core 100 which includes two electrically independent tags102 and 103, each of which includes a diode such as diode 106 or diode107 and an antenna. In particular, tag 102 includes a diode 106 which iscoupled in series between antenna portions 105A and 105B. The antennaportions 105A and 105B are each formed as a radial transmission line;for example, the antenna portions 105A and 105B may be formed in one ofthe patterns shown in FIGS. 8A-8G. The tag 103 includes antenna portions104A and 104B and a diode 107 which is coupled in series between theantenna portions 104A and 104B. The tags 102 and 103 are disposed on aspherical surface of a core 101; it will be appreciated thatalternatively, these tags may be disposed on a spherical layer whichsurrounds a core material. FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of thecore 100, where this cross-sectional view is taken at line 6B-6B asshown in FIG. 6A. The view of FIG. 6B shows the diode 107 coupled inseries between the antenna portions 104A and 104B. It will beappreciated that the diode 107 is underneath the view shown in FIG. 6A.

The substantial orthogonality of tags 102 and 103 can be seen by notingthe angle of intersection between the axes 110 and 111. Thisintersection is substantially a right angle (90′). The axis 110represents the major axis formed by antenna portions 105A and 105B.Similarly, the axis 111 represents the major axis formed by antennaportions 104A and 104B. While the example shown in FIG. 6A shows the twotags arranged in an orthogonal orientation, it will be appreciated thatslight deviations from perfect orthogonality may be used in certainembodiments; for example, a deviation of approximately about 10° toabout 20° from a perfect 90° angle may still achieve desirable resultsand still be substantially orthogonal.

FIG. 6C shows a side perspective view of a golf ball 120 prior to thecompletion of the fabrication of the golf ball. In particular, a core121 is shown with two tags 122 and 123 disposed on the outer sphericalsurface of the core 121. Each tag includes an antenna portion made outof an elastic conductive material and a diode, such as diode 128.Further, each tag includes an inductive element, such as inductiveelement 127 which is part of the tag 122. The tag 122 includes antennaportions 125 and 126 which are shaped as radial transmission lines suchas the radial transmission lines shown in FIGS. 8A-8G. Similarly, theantenna portions 130 and 129 of the tag 123 are shaped as radialtransmission lines. It can be seen from FIG. 6C that the tags 122 and123 are arranged in a substantially orthogonal orientation relative toeach other.

FIG. 6D shows a view of two tags disposed on the transparent core suchthat the two tags may be seen from the top perspective view shown inFIG. 6D. The portion of the golf ball 131 includes a core material 132onto which are deposited an antenna material to form the antennaportions of tags 133 and 134. Each tag includes an antenna and a diodecoupled in series between the two antenna portions which form theantenna. Each tag further includes an inductive element. In particular,tag 133 includes antenna portions 133A and 133B which are coupled inseries with a diode (not shown) and also includes an inductive element133C which is coupled between the two antenna portions 133A and 133B.This tag 133 is shown at the bottom of the transparent core material132. Tag 134 includes antenna portions 134A and 134B and a diode (notshown) which is coupled in series between antenna portions 134A and134B. The tag 134 further includes an inductive element 134C which iscoupled between the antenna portions 134A and 134B. The tag 134 is shownon the upper surface (facing the viewer) of the core material 132. Itcan be seen that the tags 133 and 134 are substantially orthogonallyarranged relative to each other by observing the axes 135 and 136. Axis135 represents the major axis of tag 134 and axis 136 represents themajor axis of tag 133. These axes intersect at a right angle as shown inFIG. 6D. Thus, the two tags 133 and 134 are arranged substantiallyorthogonally relative to each other around the spherical surface of thecore material 132. It can be seen from FIG. 6D that the antenna patternfor each of the antenna portions is arranged as a radial transmissionline which may take one of any of the patterns shown in FIGS. 8A-8G.

FIGS. 6E and 6F respectively show a side view and a top view of a core140 (or core and mantle layer) of a golf ball where the ball includesthree substantially orthogonal tags on the core (or on the mantlelayer). The three substantially orthogonal tags 141, 142 and 143 arearranged so that their 3 main axes are perpendicular to each other. Thismay be done by arranging the 3 main axes of the 3 tags to be parallelwith a virtual x,y,z rectilinear coordinate system such that, in theview of FIG. 6E, the main axis of tag 142 is parallel with the x axis ofthis coordinate system, the main axis of tag 141 is parallel with the yaxis of this coordinate system, and the main axis of tag 143 is parallelwith the z axis of this coordinate system. These 3 substantiallyorthogonal tags provide for substantially spherical coverage. In thecase of a golf ball with three tags, the limited space on the ball mayrestrict the size of each antenna which may in turn restrict theoperating frequency range of the antenna (e.g. the tags 141, 142 and 143may function at an excitation frequency such as 2400 MHz, which may beavailable in, for example, Australia, Europe and other countries). Eachof the tags 141, 142 and 143 may be implemented as a circuit shown inFIG. 2A and may use radial transmission lines as antenna portions, andthese antenna portions may be formed, at least in part, from an elasticconductive material such as an elastic conductive ink.

While the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6A-6F show the use of two or morefunctional tags, it is possible in certain alternative embodiments touse a single functional tag (e.g. as in FIG. 3A) in combination withanother non-functional (dummy) tag which does not operate to indicatethe presence of the ball. This may be done to achieve improved symmetryand lower cost (since a functioning diode is not required to be used forthe dummy tag). The improved symmetry may be obtained by using materialsfor the dummy tag which substantially or approximately match the weightand density/specific gravity of the components of the functional tagsuch that the ball maintains its symmetry.

An electrical component is typically used to make various tags describedherein. One such electrical component is a diode shown in the electricalschematic of FIG. 2A. Alternatively, a transistor or other types ofcomponents (e.g. an RFID integrated circuit) may be utilized. Theelectrical component is typically housed in a package which encases thecomponent to protect it from the environment. FIGS. 7A-7C show twoexamples of the packaging for a diode. It will be appreciated that othertypes of packaging (e.g. a low profile package) may alternatively beused. The diode 150 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B includes a package 151 withtwo electrical contact pads 152 and 153. This particular package may beconsidered a leadless package. The contact pads 152 and 153 may becoupled directly to corresponding antenna portions such as the mannershown in FIG. 4B where the pad 86A and the pad 86B of FIG. 4B correspondto pads 152 and 153 of FIGS. 7A and 7B. The connection between theantenna portions and the corresponding contact pad on the diode may bemade by a compressible, elastic conductive adhesive or by an elasticconductive ink which is painted onto the pad on the antenna portion. Thediode 150 may be disposed within a void as shown in FIG. 4B or may bedisposed on top of a surface (without a void) such as in FIG. 6B. Thecontact pads may face away from the center of the golf ball core, suchas in the case of FIG. 4B, or may face toward the golf ball core, as inthe case of FIG. 6B. It will also be appreciated that the end portionsof the antenna portions may extend into the void, such as void 83, andthe contact pads of the diode may face toward the center of the core andcontact the antenna portions within the bottom portion of the void. FIG.7C shows an alternative diode package which includes leads 162 and 163which extend outwardly from the package 161. This diode 160 may be usedin various embodiments described herein rather than the leadless diode150 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

FIGS. 8A-8G show examples of tags which have antennas that are patternedsuch that each antenna portion is a radial transmission line. At leastthe antennas shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8F and 8G may be formed froman elastic conductive material (such as a conductive ink) which isapplied as a liquid and then dried or is applied in other ways. FIGS. 8Aand 8B show an antenna and a portion of an antenna, respectively, withan inductive element. In particular, an antenna 200 is shown as havingtwo antenna portions 201 and 202 which are separated by a gap 204 andwhich are coupled by an inductive element 203. The gap is for theplacement of a diode or other electrical component which couplestogether the antenna portions. For example, in the case of a diode suchas in the circuit of FIG. 2A, the diode is coupled between the antennaportions 201 and 202 to produce the circuit shown in FIG. 2A, where theinductive element 203 corresponds to the inductor 58 in FIG. 2A and theantenna portions 201 and 202 correspond to the portions 52 and 54. FIG.5A indicates exemplary measurements of a particular antenna where thelengths are given in inches and the angular measurements are given indegrees. FIG. 8B shows a portion of the antenna 200 with furtherdimensions being shown. It will be appreciated that the optimum ornearly optimum dimensions of the antenna are a function of theelectrical properties of the core material (and/or other materials) ofthe particular ball. Thus, a method of one embodiment of the inventionmay design a golf ball by determining the electrical properties of thematerials of the ball and displaying the parameters (e.g. antennadimensions and/or diode parameters) of the electrical components toachieve optimum or near optimum performance.

FIG. 8C shows another example of a tag with a different antenna patternthan that shown in FIG. 8A. The tag 210, as shown, does not include anoptional inductive element, which may be added as inductive element 216in the manner illustrated in FIG. 8C. The tag 210 includes a diode 213having contact pads 214 and 215 which make contact with respectiveantenna portions 211 and 212. Each antenna portion 211 and 212 ispatterned as a radial transmission line which may be defined as apattern which has a width W which changes either linearly orexponentially with respect to a length L. This can be seen in FIG. 8Cwhere the length may be measured from a position at the center of thediode. As the length increases from zero (near the center of the diode)to a maximum length at the end 212A of the antenna portion 212, thewidth increases linearly with increases in length. In other words, thewidth is a linear function of the length in the case of the embodimentshown in FIG. 8C. Alternatively, the width measured through across-section which is perpendicular to a main axis of the antennaportion may increase exponentially relative to the length; in otherwords, the width is an exponential function of the length, measured fromthe smallest width to the largest width.

FIG. 8D shows an example of a tag 220 having antenna portions 221 and222 which are patterned as radial transmission lines and whichoptionally include perforations 226A-226H. The tag 220 also includes adiode 223 which has electrical contact pads 224 and 225 which arecoupled to their respective antenna portions as shown in FIG. 5D. Thistag 220 does not include an inductor, which may be acceptable in certainimplementations. The perforations 226A-226H exist from one side of theantenna to the other side of the antenna, allowing for the materialbelow the antenna to contact and mix with the material above the antennaduring the fabrication process of making the golf ball. This tends toimprove the integrity of the golf ball, thereby increasing itsdurability. These perforations may be regularly spaced or irregularlyspaced on the antenna portions. These perforations allow for theunderlying material to extrude through the perforations during themanufacturing process and/or allow the overlying material to extend intoand through the perforations during the manufacturing process. Examplesof other tags having perforations in the antenna patterns are shown inFIGS. 8E, 8F, and 8G.

FIG. 8E shows, in plane view, a tag 250 having two antenna portions 251and 252, each of which are formed in the pattern of a radialtransmission line. The pattern is formed by a mesh of fine wires whichare interconnected electrically to form the structure which is shown.The fine wires may be arranged in a zig-zag manner (rather than a purelystraight line) or they may include elastic conductive ink to provideimproved durability. Perforations 255 exist between the wires as shownin FIG. 8E. A diode 253 is coupled in series between the antennaportions 251 and 252. The tag 250 also includes an inductive element 254which is a wire which is coupled between the antenna portions 251 and252 as shown in FIG. 8E. The measurements shown in FIG. 8E are ininches. In this particular embodiment, the tag 250 is approximately 2.8inches long (from left side to right side) and approximately 1 inchwide, from top to bottom, at the end of an antenna portion.

FIG. 8F shows a tag 260 in plane view. The tag 260 includes a leftantenna portion 261 and a right antenna portion 262. These antennaportions are coupled to a diode 263 to form a circuit such as that shownin FIG. 2A. An inductive element 264 is also included in the tag 260 andcorresponds to the inductor 58 in the circuit of FIG. 2A. The conductivepart of the antenna portions 261 and 262 may be formed from wire or froma patterned or created antenna structure formed out of an elasticconductive material, such as a conductive ink. The antenna portions 261and 262 include perforations 265 which provide some of the sameadvantages that perforations 226A-226H provide in the case of the tag220.

FIG. 8G shows an example of another tag which has perforations and whichmay be formed from a wire or from a patterning of an elastic conductivematerial. The tag 270 includes an antenna portion 271 and an antennaportion 272, with a diode 273 coupled in series with the antennaportions. The tag 270 also includes an inductive element 274 which iscoupled between the antenna portions 271 and 272 as shown in FIG. 8G.The tag 270 includes perforations 275 which are between the wires orlegs of each antenna portion. The antenna portions may be formed fromwire or from a patterning of an elastic conductive material. Thedimensions shown in FIG. 8G are for one exemplary tag and it will beappreciated that other sizes may be used.

While many of the embodiments of tags described herein use an antennahaving portions which are patterned in the form of radial transmissionlines, it will be appreciated that alternative embodiments of tags, foruse in golf balls, may use antennas having different patterns such as afolded dipole pattern or other patterns (e.g. see the antennas in FIGS.1 and 2 of published European Patent Application EP1035418A1), whichdifferent patterns do not include radial transmission lines. Antennaswhich are not patterned with radial transmission lines may be configuredto be substantially orthogonal such that the major axes of the antennasare substantially perpendicular. Antennas which do not include radialtransmission lines may be formed from an elastic conductive material(e.g. an elastic conductive ink), and they may be coupled to diodeswhich are disposed at least partially in voids, and they may bemanufactured using any one of the techniques described herein (e.g.painting or spraying or ink jetting or the use of a template for manualpainting, etc.).

Certain embodiments of the tags shown in FIGS. 8A-8G may be designed sothat the antenna of the tag has two radial transmission lines with anatural resonant frequency between an excitation frequency from atransmitting/receiving device (e.g. handheld unit 14), which is designedto find the ball containing the tag, and a harmonic (e.g. secondharmonic which is twice the excitation frequency) of the excitationfrequency. These certain embodiments may be further designed such thatan impedance of the diode, which is coupled between the two radialtransmission lines of the antenna, is substantially tuned to animpedance of the antenna at both the excitation frequency (e.g. 915 MHz)and the re-radiated frequency (e.g. 1830 MHz) of the signal returned bythe tag. The use of radial transmission lines in the antenna will tendto ease tolerance parameters for the diode (relative to toleranceparameters for a diode used with a non-radial transmission lineantenna); for example, tolerance range of a diode's capacitance may beenlarged by using an antenna with radial transmission lines.

Methods of manufacturing golf balls, such as those described herein,will now be set forth. The various golf balls described herein, such asthe golf ball shown in FIGS. 3A-6F, may be constructed in a manner suchthat they comply with the golf ball specifications of the U.S. GolfAssociation or of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Forexample, the weight of the golf ball with the tag will not exceed 45.927grams (total ball and tag weight). The size and shape of the golf ballas shown in, for example, FIG. 3A, is within the specifications for agolf ball of the USGA (United States Golf Association) or the Royal andAncient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and thus the weight and size of suchgolf ball complies with the specifications. Furthermore, it has beendetermined that golf balls having the various tags described herein,such as the golf ball shown in FIG. 3A, have sufficient durability tocomply with the durability standards of the golf ball manufacturingindustry (e.g. the balls survive 40 cannon test hits). For example, agolf ball and tag of the form constructed in the manner shown in FIG. 3Awill normally survive many cannon hits which is the conventional way oftesting the durability of golf balls. Most of the golf balls and tagsdesigned according to the embodiments described herein will survive atleast 20 cannon hits and many (e.g. more than 50%) such golf ballssurvive 40 or more cannon hits, which is considered to be the desiredgoal for durability of golf balls. High durability, in one minimumrequirements embodiment, of both the tag(s) and the golf ball may beconsidered to be achieved when most (e.g. more than 50%) of the balls ina sample of balls survive 20 standard cannon test hits and most of theballs are still detectable (e.g. findable) over a range of at least 20feet after the 20 standard cannon test hits. High durability, in anotherembodiment, of both the tag(s) and the golf ball may be considered to beachieved when most (e.g. more than 50%) of the balls in a sample ofballs survive 40 standard cannon test hits and most of the balls arestill detectable (e.g. findable with a handheld transmitting/receivingunit such as unit 14) over a range of at least 20 feet (between thetransmitting/receiving unit and the ball) after the 40 standard cannontest hits. Having extra tags within a ball (e.g. a second or third tag)will improve the likelihood that the ball will be detectable over arange of at least 20 feet after 20 or 40 cannon hits because if one tagfails after a certain number of hits, other tags within the ball willprobably continue to function and the ball is still findable (especiallyif golfers use a technique, described below, which includes rotating thetransmitting/receiving device). Furthermore, the flight characteristics(e.g. initial velocity) of the golf balls described herein substantiallycomply with the flight characteristics of golf balls specified by theU.S. Golf Association or the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.Thus the overall distance the ball travels with normal hits, its initialvelocities and other parameters normally specified in the requirementsof the USGA or the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews undertheir standard testing procedure can be satisfied by the golf ballsfabricated as described in the various embodiments herein.

FIG. 9A shows a method 300 which is one method of forming at least someof the embodiments of the golf balls described herein. Operation 301involves the formation of the core of the golf ball. This core may beformed in a variety of conventional ways using conventional compositionssuch as, for example, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,508,350 and4,955,613. Typically, a cylindrically shaped slug which is a rubbercomposition which has not been vulcanized is placed in a mold to form aspherical core. An example of such a mold is shown in FIG. 10. Theunvulcanized rubber in the cylindrically shaped slug is molded in a hightemperature and high pressure operation. This molding operation, due tothe high temperature and high pressure, vulcanizes and cures the rubbercomposition. In one exemplary embodiment, the core rubber composition isvulcanized/cured for 8 minutes at a temperature of about 325° F. under ahigh pressure clamping of about 2 tons per square inch. After themolding process, the core is allowed to cool overnight at roomtemperature and then the surface is cleaned prior to further processing,such as operation 302. In operation 302, an antenna material is appliedto the golf ball. In one exemplary embodiment, a liquid material isdeposited onto a layer of the golf ball such as the outer surface of thecore. In the case of a three or more piece golf ball in which theantenna is applied over a layer which surrounds the core, such layerwould typically be deposited around the core before depositing theliquid material onto the layer. One way of depositing this layer aroundthe core involves injection molding of this layer around the core. Theliquid may be deposited in a number of ways such as manual painting, orspraying, or ink jetting, etc. The liquid material may be an elasticconductive material which, when dried, is both elastic and conductive.In operation 303, a diode or other electrical component is coupled tothe antenna to form a tag. Then in operation 304, a shell material isapplied to cover the antenna and the core. The shell material may be anyof the known examples of suitable cover materials, including, forexample, the materials which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,794.The material may be applied in an injection molding process usingconventional injection molding techniques. It will be appreciated thatthe positioning of one or more diodes in the voids described herein mayavoid certain problems which occur in the injection molding process inwhich the cover material is injection molded over the antenna structure;for example, the diode may be prevented from moving in the injectionmolding process despite the high velocity injection of the covermaterial into the mold. Alternatively, a compression molding method maybe used to construct the layers outside of the tag, such as a shelllayer. A compression molding operation is less likely to dislodge ormove a diode or other component from the tag structure during themolding operation.

After encasing the core and tag into a shell, the ball may be processedin finishing operations, which are conventional, and which include balltrimming, surface cleaning, stamping/logo application and painting. Asnoted elsewhere, embodiments of the invention may be used in golf ballsconstructed as one-piece balls or two-piece balls or balls which havemore than two pieces.

FIG. 9B shows an example of another method which may be used to makecertain embodiments of the golf balls described herein. In operation311, the core of a golf ball is molded with one or more surfacecavities, such as a void 83 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The surface cavityfits the size and shape of one or more diodes or other electricalcomponents. The core is also molded with a pattern of a slightdepression which provides a template, allowing the antenna pattern to bepainted. An example of such slight depression troughs which outline apattern are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. It will be appreciated that thevoids and the troughs may be formed in a layer which surrounds the corerather than the core itself, such as the layer 39 shown in FIG. 3A. Inoperation 312, an adhesive is optionally applied into the cavities andthen the diodes or other electronic components are placed into thecavities. The adhesive secures the diodes or other electrical componentsinto the cavities. An example of this adhesive is shown in FIG. 4B,wherein the adhesive 87 secures the diode 84 into the cavity 83 of acore material 82. Then in operation 313 the antenna pattern is paintedonto the core using conductive ink, with the ink extending to theelectrical contact pads of the diodes. This results in the structureshown in FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C. The antenna pattern may be paintedmanually by a person with a paintbrush painting the conductive inkwithin the outline defined by the depression troughs. Then in operation314, the core and the antenna structure is heat cured for a period oftime sufficient to cure the antenna. In the case of the antenna materialwhich is based on Electrodag PF-046, the structure may be cured for aminimum of about 5 minutes at about 121° C. Then in operation 315 ashell is applied to encase the antenna and core. In those embodiments inwhich the golf ball is a three or more piece golf ball, other layers areapplied before the outer shell is applied. These layers and the shelllayer may be applied using conventional techniques, such as injectionmolding or compression molding described above. In the case of a threeor more piece golf ball, the one or more tags may be placed between amantle layer and the shell rather than directly on the core.

FIG. 9C illustrates an example of another method for making a golf ballwhich may be used to make certain of the embodiments described herein.Operation 321 shown in FIG. 9C involves the formation of the core of agolf ball with one or more surface cavities which are designed to fitone or more electronic components, such as diodes. This core may beformed using a mold such as that shown in FIG. 10 to provide the voidsor cavities in the core which are designed to receive electricalcomponents such as diodes. An example of such a void is shown as void 83in FIG. 4A. In operation 322 an adhesive is optionally applied into thecavities and the diodes or other electrical components are placed intothe cavities to secure the diodes in the cavities. An example of the useof such adhesive is shown in FIG. 4B. Then in operation 323, the core isaligned in a pad printing machine which rotates the core during aprinting cycle. An example of such machines include the COMEC InkprintLPE 60 pad printing machine from Pad Printing Machinery of Vermont,incorporated in Manchester, Vt. The pad printing machine in operation324 automatically prints the antenna pattern onto the core using aconductive elastic ink, with the ink extending to the electrical contactpads of the diodes. This will form the structure shown, for example, inFIG. 4B and in FIG. 4C. Then in operation 325, the antenna pattern onthe core is heat cured for a sufficient period of time to cure theantenna structure, thereby drying it while leaving it both elastic andconductive. In the case of the Electrodag PF-046 material, the antennastructure may be cured for about a minimum of 5 minutes at 121° C. Thenin operation 326, conventional processing techniques may be used toapply a shell if the ball is a two-piece ball or other layers inaddition to a shell if it is a three or more piece golf ball. The shelllayer as well as the other layers may be applied using injection moldingor compression molding and the materials used for these layers may bethe same as those used for conventional, existing golf balls. Analternative process, based upon the method shown in FIG. 9C, involvesinserting the diodes (with or without an adhesive) in the cavities afterthe pad printing operation; thus, the operation 322 follows operation324. The diodes are then coupled to the antennas by painting or sprayingor jetting elastic conductive ink to connect the leads of the diode totheir respective antenna portions.

FIG. 9D shows another example of methods for making certain embodimentsof the golf balls described herein. Operation 331 is similar tooperation 321 and results in the creation of a core having voidsdesigned to receive diodes, such as the core 403 shown in FIG. 10. Inoperation 332, the core is aligned in a machine designed to depositconductive material onto the core in the pattern of the antennas. Themachine then prints a seed layer in the form of the antenna pattern orpatterns onto the core. Rather than printing the seed layer onto thecore, the seed layer may alternatively be sputtered or evaporated ontothe core. Then in operation 333, metal is plated onto the printed (orotherwise patterned) cores using, in one exemplary embodiment,electroless plating. Following the plating operation, adhesive isoptionally applied into the cavities and the diodes are placed into thecavities in operation 334. The diodes are electrically coupled to theantennas in operation 335 by applying elastic conductive ink to bridgethe gaps between the antenna and the respective contact pads on thediodes. This can result in the structure shown in FIG. 4B. An additionaloperation may be included after metal has been plated in operation 333;this additional operation includes applying (e.g. painting) an elasticconductive ink over the plated metal of the antenna pattern. Thisimproves the durability of the tag. Then the core and the antennapattern is cured in a heat curing operation 336 which is similar to theheat curing operation 325 described above. Then in operation 337, theshell layer is applied to cover the core and the antenna structure inthe case of a two-piece ball. In the case of a three or more piece ball,additional layers are applied before applying the shell layer usingconventional techniques for fabricating golf balls.

FIG. 9E shows another example of methods for making certain embodimentsof the golf balls described herein. The methods shown by FIG. 9E includedecal transfers or transfer printing of an antenna structure from atemporary substrate (e.g. a first substrate) to a component of a golfball which will remain a part of the finished golf ball. In operation341, a structure for an antenna is formed on a first substrate; in oneexemplary embodiment, this operation may involve printing or painting anelastic conductive ink, in a pattern which creates the antenna on afirst member, onto a flexible first substrate which is formed from highdensity polyethylene (HDPE). Other materials may alternatively be usedfor the first substrate. After the antenna pattern is created on theHDPE, the first substrate resembles a decal which can be applied toanother surface so that the antenna pattern can be created on thatanother surface. It will be appreciated that the pattern on the firstsubstrate may not look like the final antenna on the first memberbecause the pattern would normally be created on a flat, 2-dimensionalsurface (e.g. the HDPE's surface) and the first member may resemble asphere (e.g. a core of a golf ball). Thus, a mapping of the pattern froma 2-dimensional to a spherical surface may be required. Suchtransformation is known in the art and may be used to design the properappearance of the antenna pattern on the 2-dimensional surface of theHDPE. Such a transformation may not be required if the antenna patternon the 2-dimensional surface of the HDPE covers only a small portion ofthe sphere's surface area. In operation 343, a first member with anouter surface is formed; this first member may be, in one embodiment, aspherical core of a golf ball or it may be a core and mantle layer wherethe outer surface of the mantle layer is a sphere. It will beappreciated that operation 343 may precede operation 341. In operation345, the antenna structure is transferred from the first substrate tothe first member. This operation may be accomplished in a number ofways. For example, the decal-like antenna pattern on the HDPE surfacemay be applied onto the first member while the ink is wet (as in alithographic printing operation); alternatively, the antenna pattern andHDPE substrate may be wrapped around (or placed into contact with) thesurface of the first member and remain on the surface for futureprocessing operations. In the example where the ink is transferred whileit is wet, the first substrate may be removed from the first member sothat the first substrate is not in the finished ball. In the examplewhere the first substrate is placed in contact with a surface of thefirst member, the first substrate may or may not remain in the finishedball, although if the first substrate is HDPE, the HDPE can remain andmay be absorbed into the ball's materials upon a curing operation. Afteroperation 345, one or more diodes may be applied to the first member andthen coupled to the one or more antennas. In an alternative embodiment,the diode may be attached to the first substrate and transferred withthe antenna's structure to the first member in operation 345; in thiscase, a diode may be coupled to its antenna before being transferred orafter being transferred. Such a diode may be coupled to its antennathrough a conductive ink which is elastic. After operation 347, a secondmember, such as a shell layer, is formed around the first member andsurrounds the tag which was created on the first member.

It will be appreciated that the sequence of operations in FIGS. 9A-9Emay be modified to follow alternative sequences.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a manufacturing technique for forming voidsfor electrical components and also for forming depression troughs on thecore which can be used to form a template or create a template for theantenna pattern. The core 403 is shown after the mold 401 and 402 hasformed the voids 404A and 404B and the depression troughs 406A and 406B.The core 403 may be formed in the manner described above in which anunvulcanized rubber composition is placed within the mold and compressedunder high pressure and with high temperature in the manner describedabove to form the vulcanized core 403. The mold 401 and 402 includesprotrusions 403A and 403B which form the voids 404A and 404B. Similarly,the mold 401 and 402 includes protrusions 405A and 405B which cause theformation of the troughs 406A and 406B, thereby creating a template forthe formation of the antenna pattern. It will be appreciated that FIG.10 is a cross-sectional view of the mold with the core within the moldafter the core has been molded.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D show an example of an inkjet printer whichmay be used to create antenna patterns or to couple diodes to antennapatterns (or to do both) as described herein. FIGS. 11A and 11B show atop view of the printer with, in the case of FIG. 11A, the print headsin a first position and with, in the case of FIG. 11B, the print headsin a second position. FIG. 11C shows a side view of the inkjet printer,and FIG. 11D shows a bottom view. As shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C,the ball's core (or core and mantle layer) 1A is held between printheads 2A and core alignment grips 4A. A controllable rotation motor 3A(e.g. stepper motor) is used to rotate the core 1A while the print heads2A disperse ink onto the core's surface. The core rotation control andmotor shaft 5A and the core clamping and rotation shaft 6A serve tocontrol the rotation of the core 1A. Shafts 5A and 6A are fixedlycoupled to the core alignment grips 4A. The inkjet print head mountingplate 7A holds the inkjet print heads 2A and allows for movement ofthese heads as shown by the two different positions in FIGS. 11A and11B. A clamping shaft control support 8A supports the position of theshaft 6A. A compression spring washer 9A, which is fixed to the shaft6A, is pressed by the clamping shaft actuation spring 10A so that thecore alignment grip 4A which is coupled to the shaft 6A is pressedagainst the core 1A. The stop washer 11A, which is also fixed to theshaft 6A, is used to adjust the position of the grip 4A relative to thecore 1A. A motor support bracket 12A supports the motor 3A so that it isin a relatively fixed position relative to the core 1A. A base plate 13Asupports the motor 12A and print heads 2A as well as the otherstructures shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D. Electronic control andpower cables 14A provides power and controls to the motor 12A as well asthe print heads 2A. A rotation axle pin 15A, which exists for each ofthe two print heads 2A, supports rotation about the fixed position ofthe pins 15A; this can be seen from the view of FIG. 11D. The rotationof the print heads is controlled by the rotation actuation arm 19A whichis coupled to rotation actuation pins 17A which extend from the mountingplates 7A of each of the two print heads 2A. This allows for movement ofthe inkjet emission heads 16A around the surface of the core 1A. FIGS.11A and 11B show the movement between two positions of the print heads2A. The print heads are rotated on their respective mounting plates 7Awhich are slidably attached to the surface 13A through a Teflon supportblock 23A for each of the mounting plates 7A. The rotation actuationpins 17A engage holes in the rotation actuation arm 19A. This arm 19Apushes the pins 17A. The arm 19A is attached to an attachment pin 21Awhich in turn is coupled to an actuation solenoid 20A. The actuationsolenoid 20A causes motion of the attachment pin 21A which in turn movesthe arm 19A to cause the print heads to move. The actuation solenoid 20Ais held to the base plate 13A by the solenoid mounting bracket 22A. Thesolenoid 20A is also coupled to receive electronic control and powerthrough the control cables 14A. A core alignment guide 18 is used tohelp align the core when initializing the system.

A method for finding a findable golf ball which includes a tag will nowbe described. This method may be employed by golfers in situations wherethe ball is not responding or the ball is only weakly responding toexcitation signals from a transmitting/receiving unit. This may occurwhen the orientation of the ball and its tag is such that there-radiated signal is weak or virtually nonexistent. This method may beemployed in the case of golf balls having a single tag (such as the golfballs shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and 4C), and this method may also beemployed in the case of golf balls which have more than one tag, whereone of those tags may have failed. A golfer may hold thetransmitting/receiving device in a first orientation such that thedevice is transmitting radiofrequency signals and receiving re-radiatedradiofrequency signals in a first orientation. The golfer may thendecide to change the orientation of the transmitting/receiving device toa second orientation which is at a non-zero angle relative to the firstorientation. This will tend to cause better reception in the case oftags which are not properly oriented relative to the first orientation.Thus a golfer may decide to rotate a handheld transmitting/receivingdevice from 0° to 90° or from 0 to 270° in order to try to obtain betterreception of a re-radiated signal from a golf ball. The non-zero anglewill typically be between about 45° to 135° from a first orientationwhich may be considered to be at 0°. The golfer may employ thistechnique in the case of a golf ball having multiple tags or if one ofthe tags fails. Other uses of this method include using this techniquefor golf balls which only have one tag or one tag and a dummy tag asdescribed above.

It will be appreciated that numerous modifications of the variousembodiments described herein may be made. For example, each golf ballcould be printed with a unique identification number such as a serialnumber in order to allow a user to identify from a group of lost ballswhich lost ball is his/her lost ball. Alternatively, a quasi-uniqueidentifier, such as a manufacturing date when the ball is manufactured,may be printed on the outside of the ball so it can be read by a user toverify that a user's ball has been found within a group of lost ballswhich have been uncovered by the handheld transmitting/receiving device.Alternatively, the user may apply an identifier such as the user'sinitials onto the ball to thereby identify the ball when it has beenuncovered by a handheld transmitting/receiving device. It will also beappreciated that the tags discussed above are passive tags having noactive integrated circuit components such as semiconductor memorycircuits, and the antenna does not need to energize such activeintegrated circuit components such as semiconductor memory components.However, in certain alternative embodiments, tags, such as RFIDintegrated circuit (IC) tags which include an electronic identificationnumber (IDN) stored within the IC, may be used in the various differentfindable golf balls described herein. These tags would be “read” by atransmitting/receiving (T/R) device which transmits the IDN and“listens” for a reply from the tag with the IDN. In this case a userwould program the IDN of a golf ball into the T/R device which can thenbe used to find the ball. The entire circuitry of such an RFID IC (withan IC) may be fit into 1 package (e.g. one of the packages shown inFIGS. 7A-7C) and coupled to an antenna, such as one of the antennasshown in FIGS. 8A-8G. Such an RFID (with IDN) may be used in a ballwithout a longer range tag (such as a harmonic tag which may beimplemented as shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3A) in the same ball, or suchan RFID (with IDN) may be used in a ball with a longer range tag (e.g.as implemented in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A) in the same ball as the RFID(with IDN).

While various embodiments described herein relate to golf balls,alternative embodiments may be used in other types of balls (e.g.baseballs).

The various embodiments of golf balls described herein may work with ahandheld transmitting/receiving device which transmits electromagneticenergy at a first frequency and receives re-radiated energy at a secondfrequency. Examples of such transmitting/receiving devices are describedin co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/346,919, filed on Jan. 17,2003 by inventors Chris Savarese, et al., which application is herebyincorporated by reference at least for the purpose of describing suchtransmitting/receiving devices.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific examples. It will be evident that variousmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the broaderspirit and scope specified by the following claims. The specificationand drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative senserather than a restrictive sense.

1. A method of making a golf ball, said method comprising: forming a first member having an outer surface, said first member forming a part of said golf ball; depositing a liquid material which when dried forms at least one antenna which is electrically conductive; forming a second member which surrounds said at least one antenna.
 2. A method as in claim 1 further comprising: curing said liquid material; coupling an electronic component to said at least one antenna.
 3. A method as in claim 1 wherein said at least one antenna is an elastic conductive material and wherein said liquid material is deposited onto said outer surface.
 4. A method as in claim 3 wherein said depositing comprises at least one of (a) painting said liquid material; (b) printing said liquid material; (c) jetting said liquid material through a nozzle; and (d) spraying said liquid material.
 5. A method as in claim 1 wherein said first member is a core material of said golf ball, said core material having a substantially spherical shape, and said second member is a layer of material which has a circular cross-sectional shape and which encases said first member and said at least one antenna.
 6. A method as in claim 5 wherein said second member is an outermost shell of said golf ball.
 7. A method as in claim 5 wherein said second member is an inner shell.
 8. A method as in claim 3 wherein said elastic conductive material is a conductive ink.
 9. A method as in claim 1 further comprising: forming a template on said outer surface, said template defining at least a portion of a pattern of said at least one antenna.
 10. A method as in claim 1 further comprising: forming a void in said outer surface; depositing at least a portion of an electronic component in said void; coupling said electronic component to said at least one antenna.
 11. A method as in claim 1 wherein said at least one antenna is patterned as a radial transmission line.
 12. A method as in claim 1 wherein said at least one antenna has at least one perforation which extends from a first surface of said at least one antenna to a second surface of said at least one antenna.
 13. A method as in claim 1 wherein said at least one antenna comprises an inductive element.
 14. A method as in claim 1 wherein said liquid material comprises a solvent, a polymer and metal particles dispersed in said polymer.
 15. A method as in claim 1 wherein said at least one antenna is part of a radio frequency tag which can be used to find said golf ball and wherein said golf ball has high durability and substantially complies with golf ball specifications of the United States Golf Association.
 16. A method of making a golf ball, said method comprising: forming a first member having an outer surface; forming a void in said outer surface, said outer surface forming at least a portion of a sphere's surface; depositing an electronic component into at least a portion of said void; coupling said electronic component to an antenna formed on said outer surface; forming a second member which surrounds said antenna.
 17. A method as in claim 16 wherein said electronic component comprises two conductive connectors which face away from said first member.
 18. A method as in claim 16 wherein said electronic component is coupled to said antenna through an elastic conductive member.
 19. A method as in claim 16 wherein said antenna is formed from a liquid material which is dried.
 20. A method for making a golf ball, said method comprising: forming a first member having an outer surface; depositing onto said outer surface an elastic conductive material which forms an elastic antenna; coupling an electronic component to said elastic antenna; forming a second member which surrounds said elastic antenna.
 21. A method as in claim 20 wherein said elastic antenna is elastic in substantially all directions.
 22. A method as in claim 20 wherein said electronic component is coupled to said elastic antenna by elastic conductive elements.
 23. A method as in claim 20 wherein said elastic conductive material is deposited in a liquid form by at least one of (a) painting said liquid form; (b) plating said liquid form; and (c) jetting said liquid form through a nozzle.
 24. A method as in claim 20 wherein said first member is a core material of said golf ball, said core material having a substantially spherical shape, and said second member is a layer of material which has a circular cross-sectional shape and which encases said first member and said elastic antenna.
 25. A method as in claim 24 wherein said electronic component and elastic antenna form a tag which can be used to find said golf ball and wherein said golf ball has high durability and substantially complies with golf ball specifications of the United States Golf Association.
 26. A method as in claim 25 wherein said second member is an outermost shell of said golf ball.
 27. A method as in claim 25 wherein said second member is an inner shell.
 28. A method as in claim 20 further comprising: forming a template on said outer surface, said template defining at least a portion of a pattern of said elastic antenna.
 29. A method as in claim 20 further comprising: forming a void in said outer surface; depositing at least a portion of said electronic component into said void.
 30. A method as in claim 20 where said elastic antenna is patterned as a radial transmission line.
 31. A method as in claim 20 wherein said elastic antenna comprises an inductive element.
 32. A method as in claim 23 wherein said liquid form comprises a solvent, a polymer and metal particles dispersed in said polymer.
 33. A method as in claim 2 wherein said electronic component comprises at least one of a RFID circuitry, an integrated circuit and a diode.
 34. A method as in claim 10 wherein said electronic component comprises at least one of a RFID circuitry, an integrated circuit and a diode.
 35. A method as in claim 16 wherein said electronic component comprises at least one of a RFID circuitry, an integrated circuit and a diode.
 36. A method as in claim 20 wherein said electronic component comprises at least one of a RFID circuitry, an integrated circuit and a diode.
 37. A method of making a golf ball, comprising: forming a first member with an outer surface; forming a void in the outer surface of the first member; depositing at least a portion of a semiconductor in the void; forming an antenna in the outer surface of the first member; connecting a portion of the semiconductor to the antenna using an elastic conductive ink; forming a second member which surrounds the antenna, the semiconductor and the first member.
 38. A method as in claim 37 wherein the first member is a spherically shaped core material of the golf ball and the second member is a layer of material that has a circular cross-sectional shape and encases the first member, the antenna, and the semiconductor, wherein the portion of the semiconductor is a conductive pad.
 39. A method as in claim 37 wherein the semiconductor comprises at least one of a diode, an RFID circuitry and an integrated circuit. 